Under Review Courting Collins -- Going for the Gold

--Doug Collins may be persona non grata in Washington these days, but there are a few organizations that still think he's a wizard. His lawyer, John Langel, says Collins has been contacted by TNT and ESPN regarding a return to broadcasting. With TNT analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Fratello mentioned as candidates for the myriad NBA coaching openings, Collins is the network's top choice for a replacement should either former coach return to the bench. Collins was Turner's lead analyst for six years. In 1998 he joined NBC, at which he solidified his reputation as pro basketball's best color man. "We always said to him that if the opportunity ever arose, we would be more than happy to have him come back home," says TNT executive producer Mike Pearl.

--Who'll be TV's lord of the rings? That question could be answered as soon as next week, when executives of ABC, Fox and NBC will be in Switzerland to present sealed bids to the IOC for the U.S. television rights for the 2010 Winter Games and 2012 Summer Games. Dick Pound, the former IOC vice president who handled the last round of TV negotiations, has said the price tag for the pair of Olympics could reach a record $2 billion--an amount that has already scared off CBS, which pulled out of the bidding. It's the first time U.S. rights have been up for grabs since 1995, when NBC procured five consecutive Games, beginning with Sydney 2000, for $3.55 billion without a bidding process. The Olympics remain one of the few guaranteed ratings bonanzas, and conventional wisdom says NBC will not let the crown jewel of its sports coverage get away. If it loses the Games, it would be left with partial rights to one major sport: NASCAR, which it shares with Fox and TNT. --R.D.

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything